The contrasting fortunes of two men told the story of this game and the current position of their respective sides. While one, Jonathan Trott, finished a difficult year with a series-clinching century, the other, Sachin Tendulkar, ended it in the dressing room suffering from a sore neck and shoulders. When you have carried the hopes of a nation for two decades, these things will happen.

It was fitting that Trott should seal the result. His difficulties have reflected those of his side throughout the year. Starting 2012 with a big reputation, he was brought down to earth in the UAE and struggled against Dale Steyn in the series against South Africa. But the selectors stuck with him, he worked hard and he overcame. This was his eighth Test century and his first since Galle in March. He also passed 1,000 Test runs for the year during this innings.

The hour after lunch was a golden one for England. To see two batsmen stretch their partnership past 200, answer the questions about their form and slam the door on any lingering Indian hopes was to see the rehabilitation of this England side. This success does not make up for a disappointing year and England are not the finished article but they, at least, back on track.

For this series victory represents one of the finest in England's history. It will not make the impact of an Ashes victory - it does not have the history or capture the British public imagination in the same way - but, in the circumstances, this is as least as impressive an achievement as winning the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years in 2010-11 and winning the World T20 in the Caribbean in 2010.

Everything was weighted against them: India's home record; England's record in Asia and India in particular; England's record against spin; the loss of Steven Finn; the loss of three important tosses; the preparation of the pitches; the lack of spin provided to them in the warm-up games; and defeat in the first Test of the series.

And yet England won. They won a series in India for the first time since 1984-85; they won a series in Asia (excluding those in Bangladesh) for the first time since 2001; they won in a country where they had won just one Test since 1985; their batsmen showed they had learned to play spin; their bowlers proved more adept than the hosts' on pitches made to suit India; and they showed the spirit to fight back from the loss in Ahmedabad. A series that began under the cloud of Pietersen-gate, ended with a unified team dealing calmly and positively with every obstacle placed in their way. In stark contrast to earlier tours, not once did an England player complain about the pitches, the hotels, the heat or the tactics. They simply embraced a no-excuse environment and got on with it.

England's previous series wins in India

1933-34 - England win 2-0

India's inaugural home Test series ended with two heavy defeats to Douglas Jardine's tourists, though they emerged with some credit from the second four-day Test, which they drew after following on. Yorkshire's slow left-armer Hedley Verity claimed 23 wickets at 16.82, as England won by nine wickets at Mumbai's Gymkhana Ground and 202 runs in Chennai. After pushing England hard at Lord's in 1932, a greater test had been expected but, as Wisden reported, the "great strength of the visiting side created a feeling of inevitable inferiority before a game began and so had a disheartening influence."

1976-77 - England win 3-1

Led by Tony Greig and based on a formidable bowling attack, this was England's most comprehensive triumph in India, the five-game series secured with big victories in each of the first three Tests. John Lever, on debut, took 10 for 70 in an innings win in Delhi and ended up with 26 wickets at 14.61, while Derek Underwood (29) and Bob Willis (20) each averaged less than 20. Greig's painstaking 103 from 347 balls in Kolkata was one of only three centuries in the entire series and even accusations of Vaseline-based ball-tampering could not derail England, as India collapsed to 83 all out in Chennai.

1985-85 - England win 2-1

The only other time India have lost a series at home after taking the lead. To a backdrop of unrest - India's prime minister Indira Gandhi and British deputy high commissioner Percy Norris were assassinated in separate incidents before the first Test - David Gower's side recovered from defeat in Mumbai to win the second Test in Delhi and the fourth in Chennai, where Mike Gatting and Graeme Fowler became the first pair of England batsman to score double-hundreds in the same Test. Gatting made 575 runs at 95.83 in five matches, while the mercurial left-arm spinner Phil Edmonds was 'reintegrated' to good effect by Gower.

It was Alastair Cook that led the way. His century in Ahmedabad, in vain though it was, showed his colleagues what could be achieved. Gradually more players contributed in each Test. In Mumbai, Kevin Pietersen played an innings laced with genius and Monty Panesar - described by Cook as "a captain's dream" - showed his quality. In Kolkata, Trott rediscovered his form, James Anderson - who took three times as many wickets as the next most successful seamer and was described as "the major difference between the sides" by MS Dhoni - his nip and Steven Finn demonstrated his value; then in Nagpur Joe Root showed his promise and Ian Bell provided a reminder of his class. Through it all, Cook, Matt Prior and Graeme Swann performed with understated excellence.

Bell recovering his form saw one of the final pieces fall into place in England's jigsaw. It had been 25 Test innings since his last century and, before this, he had averaged 18 in India on his three tours. While the latter portion of his innings was somewhat soft, the initial part was important: had he or Trott fallen early, India would have had an opening. It would be wrong to diminish the importance of this, his 17th Test century.

Andy Flower will, quite rightly, gain many plaudits. But it is worth recalling the influence of Peter Moores, too. It was Moores who gave big breaks to Swann, Anderson and Prior and Moores who first called-up Trott into the England limited-overs set-up. It was Moores, too, who set-up the Academy and Lions systems that have helped the likes Finn and Root move seamlessly from the county to the international game. He really is one of the unsung heroes of England cricket.

Perhaps it was fitting, too, that Tendulkar should finish the series on the treatment bench, figuratively if not literally. He now represents the old India. A team that, whatever their past excellence, is now tired and in need of refreshing. He deserves to depart on a grander stage than this drab draw on an awful pitch at Nagpur, but 'deserve' has little to do with it. His reputation, as a player and ambassador for the game is assured, but time defeats us all. The success of Cheteshwar Pujara has shown there is talent and dedication available in India. It just requires a culture change to realise it.

@SamuelH on (December 18 2012, 18:36 PM GMT) I'm not sure what will happen but I think Lyon is better than many think

JG2704
on December 19, 2012, 9:35 GMT

@edgie on (December 18 2012, 10:21 AM GMT) Don't get so carried away there. Beating England was the 1st time SA beaten a top 4 side for several years and Australia got the better of SA in the 1st 2 tests recently so while SA are deservedly number one they are not head and shoulders above everyone else

Look at this record...Pakistan is ahead..This is the record of all test matches India & Pak played in 3 overseas countries..Pakistan is not that bad.Our record is slightly better than India..Similarly pick up India vs Pak match records,Pak is miles ahead.In recent times Pak might have lost against India.But overll Pak record is much better..Thanks to that 90's era

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:57 GMT

@g.narsimha->Our last tour was in 2010 when we visited England..
On the same tour we won a match..though we lost the series 3-1..
We also played against Australia in England 2010 & we again won a match..it was 1-1 draw series..
Your last tour to SA was rather good..It was a draw but I'll give that to you..

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:23 GMT

Just a series win in 2007 against England gives you an advantage..But saying that India's performance was far fat better than Pakistan,well i dont agree

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:20 GMT

@G.narsimha:

Its been 65 years,India never won a series in Australia..
Been 20 years & still India got none series win in SA
Record in England is rather good no doubt.

g.narsimha
on December 19, 2012, 5:57 GMT

SOLIDSNAKE-Ever since INDIA became no-1 in tests , wc win, u people left no stone unturned to brand INDIA STAGE MANAGED THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS, SAURGRAPES , u cant stomock ipl , bccis domination ,u got opportunity after our meserable performances in recent times , no denieng, we are worse at present , based on present loses u cant rubbish our cricket as worthless , now come to the stats - iam happy by seeing that at least some has taken pain to go to stats even thoug u conviniently avoided mentioning overall performance of both the teams VRS- SA, AUS, WI , ENG,VRS-SA- IN SA BOTH WON 2 TESTS ,where as in overall we are ahead -7 wins where as pakhas only 3 test wins at home & away, IN AUS- IND 5 TEST WINS PAK 4, OVER ALL IND-20, PAK -12 ,WE both won 3 series each in ENG, BUT u r last series win in ENG was in 1996, in 2006 it was atotal white wash 3-0, no series win vrs WI in WI till date so which team fared better against these top teams , these stats substantiates it so no more aurguments

SDHM
on December 18, 2012, 18:36 GMT

@JG - I'd say SA were massively out of sorts in those first 2 tests against Australia, especially at the Gabba - the fact that Australia still found ways to lose early wickets doesn't bode well for them. The difference between Australia & England in these conditions are the spinners - Australia will struggle with Lyon & Beer, whereas England had Swann & Panesar to call on. Clarke & Hussey aside, the batting line-up, judging by their performance against Herath in Hobart, looks pretty flaky against spin too. Need to find someone to perform like Cook has at the top to stand any chance, otherwise I fancy India to win. Not easily, but they should be able to. We said that here though...

InnocentGuy
on December 18, 2012, 18:13 GMT

I doubt this will bring any changes. As usual there will be excuses. They may make a couple of changes, but the core of the team will remain the same. They will go through the same training regimen. Nothing will change and we will lose again, this time in SA. But once again, it's foreign, it's against #1 team so there is "no shame in losing", you can't judge anyone based on one series, etc, etc. And the story will go on. India has had success in the past not because of a change in culture but because every once in a while a player or two comes along who is able to perform at a level that overcomes these challenges. Players of exceptional talent. India has been fortunate that in the recent past, we had 4 exceptional batsmen in the Test team, and a couple of exceptionally talented players in the LOI team. The WC wins, the Test #1, etc were achieved by these players playing at their very best out of their own. Until we get the next Dravid or SRT of the old, nothing will change.

stormy16
on December 18, 2012, 15:25 GMT

I couldnt see a way how Eng would come off with anything but a loss in this series and its full credit to them for the remarkable series win. They didnt just win they humiliated India at home - something thought to be impossible till now. I think the last team to humiliate India was probably the Windies of the past and even then I am not sure if things were this one sided in favor of the visitors. As the writer points out it was a perfect storm scenario for Eng with important contibutions from all. I thought Eng may get somewhere on KP magic but when Bell, who has been terrible against spin, also gets a hundred you know things are going well.

JG2704
on December 20, 2012, 9:57 GMT

@SamuelH on (December 18 2012, 18:36 PM GMT) I'm not sure what will happen but I think Lyon is better than many think

JG2704
on December 19, 2012, 9:35 GMT

@edgie on (December 18 2012, 10:21 AM GMT) Don't get so carried away there. Beating England was the 1st time SA beaten a top 4 side for several years and Australia got the better of SA in the 1st 2 tests recently so while SA are deservedly number one they are not head and shoulders above everyone else

Look at this record...Pakistan is ahead..This is the record of all test matches India & Pak played in 3 overseas countries..Pakistan is not that bad.Our record is slightly better than India..Similarly pick up India vs Pak match records,Pak is miles ahead.In recent times Pak might have lost against India.But overll Pak record is much better..Thanks to that 90's era

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:57 GMT

@g.narsimha->Our last tour was in 2010 when we visited England..
On the same tour we won a match..though we lost the series 3-1..
We also played against Australia in England 2010 & we again won a match..it was 1-1 draw series..
Your last tour to SA was rather good..It was a draw but I'll give that to you..

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:23 GMT

Just a series win in 2007 against England gives you an advantage..But saying that India's performance was far fat better than Pakistan,well i dont agree

Solid_Snake
on December 19, 2012, 6:20 GMT

@G.narsimha:

Its been 65 years,India never won a series in Australia..
Been 20 years & still India got none series win in SA
Record in England is rather good no doubt.

g.narsimha
on December 19, 2012, 5:57 GMT

SOLIDSNAKE-Ever since INDIA became no-1 in tests , wc win, u people left no stone unturned to brand INDIA STAGE MANAGED THOSE ACHIEVEMENTS, SAURGRAPES , u cant stomock ipl , bccis domination ,u got opportunity after our meserable performances in recent times , no denieng, we are worse at present , based on present loses u cant rubbish our cricket as worthless , now come to the stats - iam happy by seeing that at least some has taken pain to go to stats even thoug u conviniently avoided mentioning overall performance of both the teams VRS- SA, AUS, WI , ENG,VRS-SA- IN SA BOTH WON 2 TESTS ,where as in overall we are ahead -7 wins where as pakhas only 3 test wins at home & away, IN AUS- IND 5 TEST WINS PAK 4, OVER ALL IND-20, PAK -12 ,WE both won 3 series each in ENG, BUT u r last series win in ENG was in 1996, in 2006 it was atotal white wash 3-0, no series win vrs WI in WI till date so which team fared better against these top teams , these stats substantiates it so no more aurguments

SDHM
on December 18, 2012, 18:36 GMT

@JG - I'd say SA were massively out of sorts in those first 2 tests against Australia, especially at the Gabba - the fact that Australia still found ways to lose early wickets doesn't bode well for them. The difference between Australia & England in these conditions are the spinners - Australia will struggle with Lyon & Beer, whereas England had Swann & Panesar to call on. Clarke & Hussey aside, the batting line-up, judging by their performance against Herath in Hobart, looks pretty flaky against spin too. Need to find someone to perform like Cook has at the top to stand any chance, otherwise I fancy India to win. Not easily, but they should be able to. We said that here though...

InnocentGuy
on December 18, 2012, 18:13 GMT

I doubt this will bring any changes. As usual there will be excuses. They may make a couple of changes, but the core of the team will remain the same. They will go through the same training regimen. Nothing will change and we will lose again, this time in SA. But once again, it's foreign, it's against #1 team so there is "no shame in losing", you can't judge anyone based on one series, etc, etc. And the story will go on. India has had success in the past not because of a change in culture but because every once in a while a player or two comes along who is able to perform at a level that overcomes these challenges. Players of exceptional talent. India has been fortunate that in the recent past, we had 4 exceptional batsmen in the Test team, and a couple of exceptionally talented players in the LOI team. The WC wins, the Test #1, etc were achieved by these players playing at their very best out of their own. Until we get the next Dravid or SRT of the old, nothing will change.

stormy16
on December 18, 2012, 15:25 GMT

I couldnt see a way how Eng would come off with anything but a loss in this series and its full credit to them for the remarkable series win. They didnt just win they humiliated India at home - something thought to be impossible till now. I think the last team to humiliate India was probably the Windies of the past and even then I am not sure if things were this one sided in favor of the visitors. As the writer points out it was a perfect storm scenario for Eng with important contibutions from all. I thought Eng may get somewhere on KP magic but when Bell, who has been terrible against spin, also gets a hundred you know things are going well.

symsun
on December 18, 2012, 14:35 GMT

@Karnamkotil: Yes the whole nation knows. BCCI can consider revamp only if some sponsors initiate the call.

Solid_Snake
on December 18, 2012, 13:32 GMT

@G.narsimha->Indian team never won a series in South Africa..
Won just 2 matches out of 15 in SA..Is it a good record???

Won just 2 matches out of 15 in last 4 tours to Australia..
Never won a series in Australia.

Similarly the record is even worse against England in England.

So now tell me that you won in WI..Awsome win i salute on that series win :P
such a great achievement it is :)

Solid_Snake
on December 18, 2012, 13:04 GMT

@g.narsimha->I'll answer your question..Our team performs well outside UAE..
We may not have won series but we always win a match or 2 while playing outside subcontinent..
Do i have to remind you that we won against England in England while after not very long Indian team lost 4-0??
Do i have to remind you that Pak won against Australia while India got humiliated by 4-0?
How can you say that our record is not good outside..In our last tour to SA,we won a match.What some more??
This is my 100th time that i had to tell you the same Stats but i guess either you forget things early or you dont believe me.

mazii
on December 18, 2012, 12:52 GMT

g.narishma... My dear there has not been any international cricket played here in Pakistan. Spot fixing scandal ransacked Pakistan team. We lost the world best young fast bowler Muhammed Amir and very talented Muhammed Asif. Despite of losing them, we are still doing very well. We reached in the World cup semi finals in both ODIs and T20. We Drew test series against South Africa in UAE. Despite of the fact that we haven't had world class batsmen. We shattered England in tests. I'm not saying that Pakistan is the best test team. I'm saying that Pakistan is a way better team than India and talking about test team. I think in ODI's India is a better team than Pakistan. We don't have great batsmen or great fast bowlers in our team. In spite of that we are doing well. On the other hand, Dravid, Laxman and SRT couldn't able save India in England and Australia. Srilanka dragged recent test till the fifth day. India lost the two test matches within four days. Thats my point. cheers...

edgie
on December 18, 2012, 10:21 GMT

until England beat the Proteas, they will always be just a good team... and for India, they better get a decent team this time next year, becasue they will be going to South Africa...

g.narsimha
on December 18, 2012, 10:18 GMT

mazii-just see the heading on this thread-ENG won in IND after 3 decades that itself signifies our status , but we are not claiming at present ours is a best test team , for the last few months our team is not doing well , if u think u r team is better than us ,i dont have any problem , but one simple question baring the 3-0 win in UAE what is u r score line out side UAE , WE FARED REASONABLY WELL IN SA during our last tour lets wait & see how u r great team performs there.

VivtheGreatest
on December 18, 2012, 10:00 GMT

Congrats to England for a truly historic win in totally alien conditions. Their spinners and most of their batsmen performed very well but I feel Anderson and Finn made the difference. Any fast bowler who succeeds in the subcontinent deserves high praise . As for India, too many players take their places for granted. Hope the selectors take some brave decisions and pick some youngsters. If we're gonna lose at home too, it might as well be with youth.

mazii
on December 18, 2012, 9:00 GMT

g.narishma...Dear one upset on rank turner then why India was unable to do the same on rank turner. Don't live in self-denial. Pakistan thrashed England 3-0 at UAE, on the other hand India was thrashed by England 2-1 on rank turner. If your team is better than Pakistan then why India couldn't able to baffle England. You must argue that India is in transition period. Well, If this is the case then what about 8-0? India is a better ODI team but Pakistan is a better Test team. Admit it or live in the state of denial.

Advin
on December 18, 2012, 8:45 GMT

Pakistan beat England while England beat India.But it would be very simplistic to therefore conclude that Pakistan will easily beat India.It was Ajmal who single handedly beat England and he has never been a threat against India.I know that ODI performances are different from tests but there is a correlation that cannot be ignored.The West Indies and Australian test teams of the 70s and 90s respectively were also the ODI world cup holders at that time.India has beaten Pakistan (and SL) in all the recent ODIs and batsmen like Kohli,Dhoni,Sehwag,etc have feated on the Pakistan attack which is by and large the same in tests and ODI.There is no doubt though that all the subcontinent teams are in decline with retirement of stalwarts but as a nuetral, I still believe India is the best team of the 3 subcontinental teams (just as Pakistan was in the 90s)

JG2704
on December 18, 2012, 8:45 GMT

@cricinfo - Enjoy most of your threads but we have had so many posts from both sets of fans commenting on poor umpiring etc and how the team has been playing against 12-13 men. Just wondering if there's any chance of trawling through the umpiring decisions which would have been reversed either way , along with the state of play at the time?

JG2704
on December 18, 2012, 8:41 GMT

@VillageBlacksmith on (December 17 2012, 21:56 PM GMT) not saying I disagree with you but your comms are wishful thinking. If they've been keeping Bell in their for so long with poor/mediocre scores then a 100 will keep him there for a lifetime. Out of interest do you feel Sky's pundits cream over Bell a little bit too much? Before this innings Key (when discussing the side) said Bell is struggling a bit and Knight will defend his selection whatever

@baskar_guha on (December 18 2012, 05:19 AM GMT) I would just say he is giving his view as to why India are struggling and that India's old guard look old on the pitch. I'd say the author is just trying to give suggestions as to why India are struggling

colc
on December 18, 2012, 8:09 GMT

I would be interested to hear from India fans what the position is with Duncan Fletcher and his staff. He has a reputation as being a pretty strict disciplinarian, who insists on getting his squad as fit as possible. Indis in the field have looked way short of England, even Monty's fielding was perfectly acceptable, so what's going on?
Has he tried to implemet a culture of getting fit, and the players have just ignored him, or has he not bothered, and is just happy to take the money. Unless the Indian players get themselves into shape physically, no amount of talent will be enough against sides who are both talented AND very fit.
You can get away with it [to a certain extent] in limited overs cricket, but Test examine every facet of your game, and India's fielding, especialy their out fielding, has been dreadful compared to England's

Nutcutlet
on December 18, 2012, 7:58 GMT

@SiBaker: I second your gracious compliment to those knowledgeable, caring & honorable Indian posters who have contributed to my enjoyment of the series with their insights & comments. To them and anyone else who cares to read this can I say that, whilst I rejoice in England's series' win, I am genuinely concerned about the state of Indian cricket. As you appreciate far more than I can know, to this outsider it seems that there needs to be some tough talking, followed by suitable executive action by people who have some clout in the cricket world to shake the rotten branches off the sick tree that is the BCCI. It's clear that TC is taken as something of a joke by many of the senior players (Sehwag loves a joke & takes it on to the field with him!) & MSD is in denial of the serious nature of the problem. His heart is not in TC; it's so obvious. A strong India is in all our interests. India is cricket's flag-bearer on the world stage. We would like it to be carried proudly, please.

Karnamkotil
on December 18, 2012, 7:29 GMT

The Indian team .... Sorry, The BCCI team is not ready to take any chances regarding--introduction of new players.(as if the current old players are in the top form of their life). I would rather accept a defeat from a young team, rather than watching an experienced, but out of clue, out of form team. The curent team takes everything granted. No one could have imangined a series defeat after the 1st match win by an inns. It was this over confidense which led them to watch a pathetic movie "Son of Sardar", rather preparing strategies and practicing before the Mum test. Its time to start young. The whole nation knows this, but ... the BCCI looks it differently :( . We want pure cricket, and not glamour.

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on December 18, 2012, 7:23 GMT

@Jose Puliampatta, I agree with you that there's no question that England is in good hands of Cook. Dare I say, world cricket is in his good hands. His respect for rules is there for every kid, regardless of geographical boundaries, to see when he was wrongly given out for the second time in as many innings by Dharmasena. He reminded me of my humble hero Dravid. He left the pitch immediately, head down and shaking it side to side, just expressing disappointment to himself. I'm thoroughly impressed with him and would love to see him grace our shores again, albeit for a different series result. Thank you England. You helped us by showing solidarity in the wake of terrorist attacks on Mumbai. You helped us again this time, but by thrashing us. Once again hearty congratulations to England and all her fans. Keep it up and savour the moment.

Narbavi
on December 18, 2012, 6:56 GMT

@razibgp : Sehwag never talked about the series with west indies, he said england is not weak like bangladesh, really laughing at your comment, we are flat bullies?? lol i dont even want to talk about ur team

g.narsimha
on December 18, 2012, 5:23 GMT

HUGGAKHAAN-JUST ARROGANCE ,self boasting, we all seen u r team in AUS last time,3-0, 5-0 , one upset on rank turners doesnt make u r team the best , u can live in dreams no body is stopping, even today i am not prepared to compare ur team with ours u cant win in WI, SL where we won , the present situation will change , need not waste u r time on proving the world that INDIA is worse , yes at present we have issues t,he main thing internal fued , lacking team spirit , we have whare whatals , we can overcome these short comings first concentrat on u r team nothing to show out side UAE , we can see in SA against whom u rs is worse home & away , we fared far better vrs PROTIES no team is prepared to visit u r place , no one is ready to host as u r players may indulge in extrs cariculam activities as done in ENG last time , INDIAN cricket is here to stay , not depend on SAHWAAG , KOHLIS, PUJARS, CHAAND can take care of u r self asumed great team .

baskar_guha
on December 18, 2012, 5:19 GMT

Yet again Mr Dobell is keen on bending facts to align with his opinion. Indian team's average age is likely 2-3 years less than England's. Yet Mr Dobell uses Tendulkar to focus on old and tired India. India is inexperienced and not particularly talented. That will change for the better with time. England is peaking now and has lots of experience but that too will change over time. Congratulations to England for playing to their potential. India's chances depended on Tendulkar, Sehwag and Zaheer clicking and they didnt for the most part. Pujara looks good as does Yadav. The rest need to prove themselves.

Desihungama
on December 18, 2012, 5:17 GMT

I am horrified to know baton is in India's hand to lead the world cricket. Future of cricket is bleak.

g.narsimha
on December 18, 2012, 4:11 GMT

Blessing in Disguise.now its easy to take some hard decisions . Well played ENGLAND , In the history of the INDIAN cricket its first time that the visiting teams spinners dominated INDIANS in thier own DEN The great WARNE, MURALI & OTHER SPINNERS could not ackieve any thing in INDIA but hats off to PANESAR, SWAAN , U both are innstrumental in INDIAS downfall ,surprise package is MONTY whose erlier AVE-VRS INDIA was 50+ per wicket ,better team won , we are looking forward ,hope now the selection committee will take some bold decisions while selecting team vrs AUS.

razibgp
on December 18, 2012, 4:10 GMT

I'm a Bangladeshi fan and quite happy to see England literally demolished India. The flat pitch bullies failed even in their own flat & turning track. I remember Shehwag, couple of weeks back commented on BD vs. WI series that BD will loose the ODI series 5-0. Well, Mr. Shehwag I think it's time you eat your own words & concentrate on scoring some runs for your own country. We won the ODI series 3-2 & you better learn some batting trick from Tamim, Mahmudullah & our mighty atom Mushique. The way the whole Indian team is performing, it's not very far that even Afganistan will thrash you out.

recycle-bin-is-empty
on December 18, 2012, 4:07 GMT

Congratulations to England. You have outplayed us in all the departments in this series. It is never easy to comeback in an alien conditions after losing the first match, but major credit must go to Alistair Cook, the way he carried himself right from the first match when the chips were down. Players like him can score in any conditions even on moon, and any team right now would crave to find a player like him. Winning in India is never easy, and even though this Indian team might be the weakest in recent times, but that should not take away anything from the English performances. I hope England would also explore their spin department more and not neglect them, now that their tours are away from SC. Swann and Monty can do a lot of magic for them. As for our team, the main reasons for all these defeats is a no brainer. Several posters have already pointed out, but wonder what BCCI is even thinking ?? Also, there is a high chance that this was the last match SRT played.

on December 18, 2012, 4:01 GMT

Commiserations to those gracious, fair-minded & knowledgeable Indian fans - such as CandidIndian, Balaji Kumar, Nampally, Jose Puliampatta, Akshita29, nyc_missile, challagalla, Dravid_Gravitas, Cpt. Meanster & itsthewayuplay - who have provided such an illuminating backdrop to this series. It's been a pleasure, guys. I'm afraid I won't be supporting your team anytime soon (due entirely to what the BCCI is doing to world cricket at the mo), but best of luck nevertheless.

Solid_Snake
on December 18, 2012, 3:59 GMT

@@Akshay V. Dabholkar->Ohh & i forgot something..
When Pakistan defeated the same England team not long ago,All Indian fans were saying that it's no big deal as England cannot play spin well.Now coming to this series..England were facing the fearsome spinners on a tailor made pitches,yet India got thrashed so badly that no fans have to say that their team was weak..I guess excuse is always ready there in the pocket..If Got thrashed..just take out a new excuse lol

sidganesh
on December 18, 2012, 3:57 GMT

This series loss gives the Indian selectors the perfect opportunity to sack the non-performing seniors and give the deserving guys - Rahane, Tiwary, Sharma and Saha - a chance.

I'd rather have India losing to Aus with a rookie side than seeing the something as pitiful as Eng series!

Solid_Snake
on December 18, 2012, 3:55 GMT

@Akshay V. Dabholkar->Really amusing comment dude..& one of the worst excuse i heard in my life.Before the series your channel Ads were saying things like 'Angarezon ki baja dain gay','Ashwin is fearsome,he'll do this & that' bla bla...
All that big talk went down the drain...& now after this humiliating defeat,people are saying that their team was weak thats why England won..Like all those past 28 years Indian team was ranked 1 in test rankings right?Let me remind you something.In Past even weak Indian used to beat England here no matter what.But even a weak team is entitled as 'the best' if success comes against england or any other team.But if a strong team gets defeated.People say 'ohh! our team was weak'..
Come on dude try to appreciate the opponent hard work & their success.Accept the defeat

Solid_Snake
on December 18, 2012, 3:47 GMT

Only want to add One thing

"Team India Bajayegi Angrezon ki Pungi"

Enough said :P

Blal
on December 18, 2012, 2:55 GMT

@charu sarathy: that basically is India's problem. Even those who play tests for India think in similar way. No wonder India can't play on seaming wickets of England (lost 0-4), can't play on hard and fast wickets of Australia (lost 0-4). Now can't play on tailor made and customized spinning wickets of home India .

subbass
on December 18, 2012, 2:06 GMT

"Forget Test. Who cares. T20 is much more fun and exciting. "

------

T-20 is cricket for people who know nothing about the game or people who like watching cartoons, Test cricket is for people with a brain. And ask any player(ex or current) what format they look back with the most pride and apart from perhaps Chris " Money' Gayle they will ALL say Test cricket. The clues in the name 'Test'.

Mind you wickets like the one we have just saw don't help, but still, the likes of SA, Eng, SL Pakistan and Australia will ALWAYS play Test cricket. India can go play limited overs stuff for all I care. Besides we all know the real reason there is apathy amongst some India fans and it's quite simple, they are currently rubbish at it. So it's a case pf boo-hoo not playing anymore. What a pity. But hey, they seemed to quite like Tests when they were number 1 ! What a coincidence huh !

plz publish.

on December 18, 2012, 2:03 GMT

Great series win by England. They were clearly the better team.

New Problems:

1. With Dravid, Laxman retired, Tendulkar out of form and Sehwag and Gambhir barely hanging on to their spots, Indian test batting is in very bad shape.

2. With Kumble retired, Harbhajan having completely lost his mozo, Indian spin bowling is in very dismal shape.

Old Problems:

3. Indian fielding, fitness and fast bowling has been poor for years.

That said:

With Cook scoring 1 run on 52 balls (later he improved his run rate) and England scoring 199 runs in 97, future of test cricket looks really bleak. Very few would find such display "exciting", "entertaining" or "worth their time.

I hope BCCI takes some bold steps and greatly limit the number of test matches - I think one test match per series and a max of six test matches per year should enough to preserve the "tradition".

For entertainment, excitement and fun let us focus on IP, T2o and ODIs in that order.

I think this is what most want.

tests_the_best
on December 18, 2012, 1:57 GMT

@Huggakhan, the main point of my post was that India has become a very weak side and winning a series even at home is going to be a tough ask, pak was also mentioned in light of that argument. I don't know how you managed to take so much offense from it. Pak might right now be the best team in the sc but as for pak whitewashing india in india, keep in mind that of the top teams, ind has worst bowling but pak has worst batting. No other team has folded for under 100 as many times as the pak team in the past decade, so you might want to keep those whitewashing dreams in check.

on December 18, 2012, 1:35 GMT

India has been outspinned by Swann and Panesar and outseamed by Jimmy Anderson.

theRule19
on December 18, 2012, 1:16 GMT

Pathetic, hopeless, toothless, are all the adjectives that come to mind after seeing this particular Indian teams performances in the last 6-8 months or so. Really, this is a team that just does not want to improve. Its ironical that they know their flaws in bowling, batting and let alone fielding. And on top of it rather than improving their game the captain and other players are only coming up with excuses. There are seriously aging and out of form seniors who just wont quit and the selectors knowing this are not doing anything to overcome this. Then there are under performers like Gambhir(Cant bat), Ashwin(Cant bowl), I.Sharma(Cant bowl), etc. who should be shown the door. Losing is one thing but losing in the way this team has shown (i.e. just without a fight) is just pathetic. Somewhere too much of the shorter format (e.g. T20s) of the game and its popularity in this country is responsible for such a poor show. Really feel Dhoni is better off as a player then a Captain.

Punjami
on December 18, 2012, 1:06 GMT

With tour of Pak and Oz to follow, who have a better bowling attack and more all round teams than England, it is time that Team India to introspect. We cannot carry old baggages. Only thing required is to send them off in the most dignified manner. The youngsters who are promising should be nurtured. Find a real all rounder in the Watson or Kallis mould not the Indian version all rounders - a batsman who cannot bowl or a bowler who cannot bat decently!!!

Manush
on December 18, 2012, 0:57 GMT

While England identified their weaknesses and addressed professionally without any sentiments and politics, we failed miserably due to sentiments and politics.England would have done still better if they fielded Ponty in the first test and omitted Samit Patil from the squad, who is a material for short version. India will have to play next with Aust tralia and SA. The current openers can still be the same with a warning Gambhir as in this series he is the one spoiled Viru's chances of making big scores.Sachin should go gracefully before the series starts.Bring new set of bowlers in both spin and pace and sack Dhoni as Captain and retain him in the team !!!

on December 18, 2012, 0:43 GMT

Full credit to England for this series win..the better team won..
Indian cricket can learn a lot of new tricks and strategies from the England setup..
But I doubt any major change will happen as long as we have bozos like N.Srinivasan at the helm.
The talent is there - look at Pujara, Rahane, Rohit, Manoj..but poor selection...
India also need to develop their bowling dept a lot......seems like the fast bowlers are getting injured a lot..makes you wonder if the MRF Pace Academy once under Lillee did any good at all for India. Special mention to Ashwin...he has shown he has fighting qualities in batting....which was missing in a big way from most of the Indian team until to some extent in the last Test...
Dhoni must go from Tests for sure..I cannot stand him ...

Dravid_Pujara_Gravitas
on December 18, 2012, 0:31 GMT

Hearty congratulations to England and all her fans. I'm surprised at the result. I thought it would be 3-1 at least. But the nature of the pitch and a decent first innings total by India ruled out the possibility of 3-1. Shame on Indian Cricket for losing this series. Will Statchin retire at least now? If not, he should be dropped. Period!

on December 18, 2012, 0:31 GMT

Thank you Cook, not exposing Sachin (and his misery to face the ball) one last time, before he exit gracefully. Perhaps, your non declaration also saved some blushes for Sehwag & Gauti too! Thanks for small mercies! This is in addition to your wonderful performance as a player ( batsman & Fielder) and a leader (Captain). England is in very good hands!

on December 18, 2012, 0:25 GMT

England did a job with the some degree of efficiency helped by Indian team and selection committee which ensured we donot try out youngsters. Shewag & Tendulkar - should be rotated based on opposition. Gambhir - must be dropped - if you knock the 2-3 scores above 50 - he averages in 20's - he was supposedly similar to Cook/ Amla in India side (patient accumulator).
Kohli , Pujara, Rahane should be asked to play more... tell the senior lot (Shewag, Tendulkar, MSD, Gambhir, Kohli, Zaheer etc) - they risk losing IPL contract if they donot perform for team India and another series loss - see the change in attitude... With easy money round the corner and ever forgiving viewing public- they are just going through motions

jmcilhinney
on December 18, 2012, 0:22 GMT

@Long-Leg on (December 17 2012, 13:40 PM GMT), couldn't agree more. To those arrogant Indian fans who were gloating about their 4-0 revenge before the series had even started, I have no sympathy. They are in the minority though. It just doesn't seem like it sometimes because there is just such a large number of cricket fans in India. To the real Indian cricket fans I too say that I feel your pain, having supported England through some dark times in the past. There is talent there but I fear that the BCCI may still not nurture it to the fullest extent it could.

calmsoul
on December 18, 2012, 0:06 GMT

And who white washed this same England team. England played well but they can not call India as a final frontier because they are yet to beat Pakistan.

on December 17, 2012, 23:37 GMT

Forget Test. Who cares. T20 is much more fun and exciting.

Nilesh_T
on December 17, 2012, 23:35 GMT

Hearty congrats to England, well played.Total let down for the Indian fan. Absolutely no commitment nor the attitude by the Indian team to at least put up a fight,just going through the motions in a disinterested way. Only fit to find excuses for the losses,and where is Duncan Fletcher hiding? What is his contribution ( or non-contribution) to this state of affairs? Sack him not today or tomorrow,but yesterday.He is a total liability,good for nothing. Sehwag,Gambhir,Dhoni and SRT prime culprits in this result. Selection committee has no guts to drop these life members of the national team.

AvidCricFan
on December 17, 2012, 23:26 GMT

While SRT may have carried hopes of the nation, he has benefited greatly at the same time. He has not done a benevolent service for the Indian cricket. MSD also needs to stop hiding behind excuses.

FlashAsh
on December 17, 2012, 23:22 GMT

Hey aren't we all missing something? Whats the Match Referee said about the disrespect etc shown to Umpires & Trott? When are we going to find out how much of their match fees Dhoni & Kohli are going to lose for bringing the game into disrepute? What sort of ban have they received?

Can't wait for IND fans to begin with the "It doesn't happen to ENG players" remarks or "Broad should have been banned for such & such"

Really great performance by ENG virtually all series!! Whole team contributed and I wish SA would tour IND next!! Roll on the ODI's & 20/20's ENG much improved and squad rotation should be great and IND fans have already moved onto that revenge series now!! So watch out IND!!

on December 17, 2012, 22:51 GMT

Indian fans deserve better! An aging team, unfit players, toothless bowling, failure of batsmen after first test, all tells the story of how bad things have gone for India. After all Ashwin is 2nd highest run getter for India. All this hero worshipping should stop, whats the point in having so many young talented players when they are not used? Every game should be taken seriously, It cannot be about individual players, it should be about the team all the time. Full credit to England, their team management has been excellent, the way they are developing cricket and promoting young cricketers make them worthy winners.

haq33
on December 17, 2012, 22:17 GMT

Pak would wreck India in a test match....cos India CAN'T BOWL and sehwag, the only one who actually tormented us in tests is finished. Indians should really have learned to stop perpetually falling back to the next lowest common denominator. "we lost in England but we will win in aus....we lost in aus but we will win in India...we lost in India but we will win the odi's against pak.".....why not suggest that U are not at all as good as ure demographics and ure media and ure monopoly over cricket boards all imply U shud be. Eat some humble pie and accept that U need to build a team and get good enough...starting with some bowlers perhaps?? M S Phoney cud learn a thing or ten from the way misbah conducts himself and his team. give credit to the opposition, stop cheap talking them like "oh we will beat U on home soil so there!" or "U cheated with green tops".

on December 17, 2012, 22:16 GMT

@200ondebut - I don't think that Mr Dobell actually said England were good under Moores. What he said was that he gave breaks to Anderson (who had been around before but had been a drinks carrier for many years and England had mucked about with his action), Swann and Prior and that he had put the Lions and Academy systems in place - also the case.

Would Swann, Anderson and Prior made it into the side had Moores not called them up? Who knows, but he was the one that called them into the setup and they did perform, otherwise they wouldn't be playing now. The three have been amongst England's most consistent performers in recent times and are generally world class performers. But how different it could have been......

hadld88
on December 17, 2012, 22:12 GMT

Its strange seeing Trott score 1000 Test match runs in the calendar year and people saying its been a poor year, granted its not up to his usual high standard but its not bad going. On Tendulkar I don't think he'll retire until he becomes the first man to 200 Test caps and if he plays all 4 Tests vs Australia it'll take him too 198 caps and will have to wait until Nov-Dec 2013 to get the final few caps

Lmaotsetung
on December 17, 2012, 22:00 GMT

We waited, we came, we conquered the sub-continent. Goodbye, goodnight, drive home safely, see you in 2014! LOL

VillageBlacksmith
on December 17, 2012, 21:56 GMT

nice for bell to score a ton in his last ever innings.... with bairstow, root, morgan and taylor knocking on the door it's time to move on from bell... even tho he has finally scored a (soft) ton after 25 test innings (after being dropped on 75) against a beaten side, after bell's last 12 months (ave 8 in UAE) this innings proves nothing.. time to look elsewhere for middle order grit.

Class-Apart
on December 17, 2012, 21:29 GMT

hahahaha this is the same England team Pakistan beat 3 nil earlier this year

on December 17, 2012, 21:09 GMT

Frankly, England and Australia have just taken advantage of a weak India with players out with injuries, out of form and into retirement. England won't even have dreamt of winning a test here, forget a series.

glance_to_leg
on December 17, 2012, 21:09 GMT

I was very impressed by this English team, especially by Cook's excellent captaincy, Anderson, the use of spinners in tandem, and that way in which all the batsmen contributed, but I really feel for India. I think it is not just a case of an ageing team, but also of poor conditioning, too much T20, too much emphasis on one day skills, &c. BUT we need a strong India for world cricket, and I hope another generation of players is given the chance to come through without fans and the press howling for their blood when they lose (even when they lose badly). Good luck for the future, India ... and please stop obsessing about the hugely boring IPL>

jango_moh
on December 17, 2012, 20:55 GMT

@tests_the_best... agree with you, i think it can only get better from here for india... the team is in transition, and this is the right time to make even more changes, sachin needs to think about what he can contribute to a new indian team, dhoni needs to go, so does gambhir..... ishanth and umesh can be a good combination... and some new spinners may need to come in... ojha is good, ashwin may not be test material... get some young leggies etc... encourage quickies... lets get a NEW TEAM!!!! and let them fail!!! and LEARN!!!!

AshG77
on December 17, 2012, 20:54 GMT

@Godhelpus

So true...Sehwag was actually smiling and laughing during the 5th day of the last match when the game was destined to a draw.....The body language of the players says a lot. Sachin is falling from grace too

on December 17, 2012, 20:39 GMT

Lol, funny to see the Eng media and public brag and brag about their team to no end. Accepted they outdid India in India. But this is an India in transition after losing 3 match winners like RD, VVS and Kumble .

Eng is still not world class cos they were still beating by Pak and SA (at home). So stop bragging and try to continue this, cos everything can disappear.

Also brag about ur teams good rather than cursing and spitting and belittling opposition.

Remember , Ur media was the most ruthless on ur team b4 this series started not India. :-)

OzWally
on December 17, 2012, 20:38 GMT

I don't agree with many Indian posts saying that the IPL has caused the downfall of Indian test cricket. Virtually everyone has their own T20 competition now and it doesn't seem to effect there Test capabilities. One thing it has done though is open up Indian conditions to more and more players who then gain valuable experience to be used on later tours.

A_Vacant_Slip
on December 17, 2012, 20:34 GMT

@maddy20 on (December 17 2012, 17:47 PM GMT) well well you have showed yourself. Normally I would not stoop as some people do to gloating but I will make an exception in your case and the case of a few other that I will find. Call it payback. An angry Indian team was supposed to thrash the England punching bags to relieve some stress. However - England did not read the script - England played well and won. This come on top of the 4-0 wash in Australia and 4-0 wash in England. SO - Who is the punching bag now @maddy20? Do not disrespect Pakistan or England or anyone else @maddy20. You have met them on your way down. Never forget it.

sanjeevmukherjee2006
on December 17, 2012, 20:32 GMT

To al the sl and pak fans yea in tests we r struggling in odi we r ok we beat pak in wc in last two asia cups in t20 wc this year and in all wc . For sl we beat dem 2-1 in cb series 4-1 this year odi series and we won many odi series against sl at least we did not loose to nz. So why u guys do a reality chek on ur teams

Chris_P
on December 17, 2012, 20:26 GMT

From a neutral pov, kudos to the true Indian fans for their posts. The usual bluster from the ill informed are nowhere to be sighted, not even an acknowledgement they were wrong. Typical, they reflect poorly on the well researched follower of cricket.

JG2704
on December 17, 2012, 20:24 GMT

@Akshita29 on (December 17 2012, 18:07 PM GMT) Thanks for your gracious comms throughout this series and I hope they continue. However I think Australia will be a very tough side to beat. If we look at how Australia did in comparison with how England did vs SA (in their home series separated by just a few months) you'd have to say Australia did better than England . Eng lost 2 of 3 tests , Aus 1 of the 3 tests and of the drawn matches Eng/SA was one which was in the balance had it gone the course whereas Aus were way on top. Re Aus - I think much depends on the fitness of their best bowlers and the continuing form of Clarke and Hussey.

Well done England. Whatever be the condition of Indian team, to beat us at home is a special achievement. Cook and Swann may go on to become two of the greatest test cricketers for England. Hoped Indian players would have shown passion for the game and cricketing skills rather than for the verbal exchanges.

Hurricane08
on December 17, 2012, 20:06 GMT

There was a time when we selected players for the limited overs format based on their performance in the 5 day format. Now we select players for the 5 day format based on their T20 performance. There is a lot of talent in the country, the selectors just need to spend more time at various venues to identify talent and groom it based on the potential. The Sehwags, Gambhirs and SRTs have to be dropped. You are in the side based on your current performance, not past performance.

Huggakhan
on December 17, 2012, 19:48 GMT

@tests_the_best: "I think even Pak in India could result in a 1-1 draw." Really? I'm pretty sure this same England team lost THREE NOTHING to Pakistan. Keep dreaming bud. India would have to pull off a miracle for 1-1 draw. They'd get whitewashed. The team that totally annihilated India was whitewashed by Pakistan. I don't know what you mean by "even Pakistan" because Pak is the best team in the sub continent at the moment with Sri Lanka neck in neck. India is way behind near west indies right now. So please, spare us the condescending tone.

Pedpathpres
on December 17, 2012, 19:42 GMT

I agree with CRIC 2. India got to the top not just with SRT , but also with a gritty skipper( Ganguly ) who gave as good as he got ( no wonder the Aussies don't like him!) and two other accomplished batsmen ( Dravid and Laxman) as well as an aggressive opener/ marauder like Sehwag , with good bowling from Zaheer and Kumble on a consistent basis. SRT was important but outside the subcontinent he was much less effective, without taking anything away from some amazing performances. No team can depend on one player and hope for prolonged success.
All of them will need to be replaced and I believe there is the potential (in all areas) . It must be given the chance , coupled with a realistic assessment of their performances. .

atheros1672
on December 17, 2012, 19:35 GMT

Y is it that for any series, India does not have the best bowlers on the roster? They are either injured, resting or just simply in form and ergo would not get selected according to BCCI methodology.. Look at the list of bowlers who are injured!!! Praveen kumar - aparantly our best swing bowler injured for last dont know how many months, Varun AAron - not the best bowler but bench strength etc etc. Is this not boards duty to make sure they are rested and ready to play at all times? It is a beautiful act they do of balancing mis-management and wrong selections to put the blame on Captain. Dhoni is a good cricket brain but everything that he gets dished out to him series after series, the brain has ceased to work. He is tired and it is time he steps out of Test cricket. It is not his game and there is no shame in accepting that. Please retire Dhoni and take Sachin with you!!!!!!!!

The_bowlers_Holding
on December 17, 2012, 19:33 GMT

If I am truly honest I did not expect the tour to be a success given the history, Englands form etc. and I was dreading the expected torrent of jingoistic bile from the usual trollers; so I am very satisfied with the end product but realistic enought to realise India have snags and it is not the best barometer. I do find it puzzling when people are predicting Aus to win by a bigger margin because of their superior pace attack, can someone enlighten me as bar dependable Siddle I do not see any depth, the bowlers are all unfortunately made of glass and will struggle in the hotter weather, long spells in the field. Lyon is improving but no Swann/Panesar, anyway I am lookimng f

tests_the_best
on December 17, 2012, 19:27 GMT

Indian fans need to go easy on their team. Having followed the cricinfo user comments over the past couple of years, it seems indian and eng fans are quite opposite to each other. No other fans go overboard with victories as much as the eng fans do but when their team loses, they are more circumspect and supportive of their team. Contrast this to Indian fans, who more or less take victories in the right spirit. But the way they lambast and debase their team and its players when it loses is beyond comparison. Got to give some time to this indian team, transitioning is never easy. Even aus dropped home series against sa and eng.

on December 17, 2012, 19:23 GMT

Somehow India needs to find a place for Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Irfan Pathan in their test team setup. These three are a class apart and it is time India stop rotting them out in the cold. Sharma and Pathan has been wasted as ODI players, which they are not. India need to give them space for ODI and let them fail in test cricket for a duration. They will come good. Test cricket improves your skills.

Cric2
on December 17, 2012, 19:18 GMT

This has got to stop!!!! To say that SRT carried the hopes of a nation is belittling the contributions of the other greats of his era. Ganguly in his hey days, Dravid and VVS. SRT has many records but very few significant innings and has almost never fired when it mattered most! We celebrate a below par 75 from SRT, when he is in the side for scoring double and triple hundreds!

luvcricket_new_gen
on December 17, 2012, 19:07 GMT

How can we expect India to win when our bowlers are awful and batsman are out of form and lack technique. Three or four spinners doesn't matter - we just don't have even one world class spinner. pace bowling same old story - no pace, no swing, no variations, no aggression! We don't win T20s, we don't win tests, what are we up to? let us see how we retain ODIs edge...

tests_the_best
on December 17, 2012, 19:01 GMT

@marlboro19 - "NO other could have done it at the moment. Aus and SA lack the spinners". Agreed that Aus would probably struggle to win in india since their batting is a little unstable too but I think if SA were to tour india right now, they would probably win comfortably notwithstanding lack of spinners. The last 2 times SA toured india, they took a 1-0 lead with innings victory and India had to pull things back and make it 1-1. Since then, India has become much weaker while SA has stayed the same/improved. I think even Pak in India could result in a 1-1 draw. All in all, one of the weakest indian teams in the past couple of decades. It can only get better from here on.

Bramblefly
on December 17, 2012, 18:52 GMT

England did what a side with the potential for greatness has to. They learnt from their defeats in alien conditions and used their talents to put the lessons into practice. India had two strategies, spin them out and bore them out. A year ago they might have succeeded but not now. Everyone contributed from 1 to 11. The only doubts for the future are Bresnan and Broad but there's plenty of competition for their spots.

SAF-Fan-no-1
on December 17, 2012, 18:51 GMT

England must not forget they have beaten on his own soil by Great South Africa. We must saloot Mr. Hashim Amla & Mr.Jack Kalis. England must take it easy and not to proud them self. It's cricket - very funny game. Once you are No.1 and after you are ZERO. Indian oldies should go.

raj14291
on December 17, 2012, 18:47 GMT

well played england!!!!you guys have outplayed us in all departments...you truly deserve this victory...it's not easy for an english team to come and win a series in india...everything was against them...pitch,conditions...and to my fellow indian brothers,well,we all have every right to be dissapointed with the performance of this indian team...but they are a team in transition..it's no excuse to loose the series but lets give them some more time...im confident they would have learnt from their mistakes and give a better performance against australia...

Bramblefly
on December 17, 2012, 18:44 GMT

I feel for Indian fans who have been let down by many of their players and, most of all, their board. It's always a problem when the result doesn't match the build up and the BCCI marketing people laid it on really thick, I'm told, just as they are doing for the 20:20s. I've seen several comments from Indian fans suggesting that India forget about test cricket. Please don't let the BCCI go down that road. Nagpur was hardly an advert for the test format but there is still a constant parade of brilliant tests that enthral the true cricket lover. Long may it be so.

Godhelpus
on December 17, 2012, 18:33 GMT

Those Indian clowns are overweight, overpaid and have brought shame on the indian nation. There's only a few good players such as Pujara and Kohli. Get rid of that lazy , good for nothing Sehwag. The rest of those ineffective jokers are an embarassment to world cricket. The Indian selectors are as pathetic as the indian team.

Well done to England , they are a professional bunch of guys who deserved their victory and this is from a passionate indian supporter who is fed up of Indian cricketers who have no passion for the game.

200ondebut
on December 17, 2012, 18:32 GMT

Dobell is never happy unless he is finding something negative to write about - strange really because he doesn't like criticism of his own work. This piece is misguided as it is incorrect. Under Moores England were poor - he managed to get the worse out of the players. KP saw this and the ECB removed him.

SDHM
on December 17, 2012, 18:27 GMT

Pleased for Ian Bell - he proved me wrong in this innings. A placid pitch yes, but not one that suited his game, based as it is around touch & timing, and it being so desperately slow. I was fuming after his dismissal in the first dig, so fair play for him to turn it round. Exactly the sort of innings he is often accused of not playing - a gritty score under pressure. All right, by the end the runs were fairly irrelevant & easy to come by, but with us wobbling at 94-3, he put in some proper hard work and deserved some easy runs. Playing in NZ & Oz should suit him more, so I expect a good 2013 from him too. With Trott back in form as well, the batting line-up finally is beginning to inspire a bit of confidence again. It's been so wonderful to get up at 4am & watch England play well in the subcontinent for once - makes the lack of sleep & ridiculous amounts of coffee consumed all worth it!

on December 17, 2012, 18:09 GMT

Well played england, india were very disappointing- again.Cant wait for the ashes series, it will be terrific cricket.
Despite the poor wicket this was still a great test match that could have gone either way at times.

on December 17, 2012, 18:08 GMT

here r main probs n concerns n changes needed in the set up:
The major factor in the defeats is IPL, it has eaten cricketers and fitness big way.BCCI just want2make money n 4got the priorities.They shud cut down or shut down IPL.after every IPL, frontline players takes break or gets injured and thus remain absent from next series. ever since IPL came, India hav performd badly in major series.world cup win is not excuse.
The sellectors need to aim2produce a quality fast bowling allrounder,india cant rely on spinners always.irfan pathan shud b regroomd n b back in test cricket,hes still young.he will bowl n bat lot better than chawla,dinda,ishant,jadeja.india cant always expect batsmen2win matches4them.sellectors shud now produce good pace bowlers.
sachin can b allowd2play atleast 1more series cos there is no replacement4him.he shudnt bow out on losing cause just like ponting.
team mgmt shud build pool/bench strength of 5-6pace bowlers2develop n b world class bowlers,just like eng,aus,sa

Akshita29
on December 17, 2012, 18:07 GMT

Congrats to England on a much deserved series win . I am not sure but I think England is not touring Subcontinent for next few years . So now they don't have to worry much about spin and KP don't have to worry about Left arm spin much. Ashes is almost in the pocket for England as none of Australia's fast bowler will be left fit to play the Ashes at the rate they are breaking down . I really hope Cummins and Pattinson could be fit for Ashes as I would like to see KP taking on Two of the most promising young fast bowling talent from Australia but I doubt any of these two would be able to play in the Ashes . Good thing for KP is that he won't be facing a left arm spinner in the Ashes .

hhillbumper
on December 17, 2012, 18:01 GMT

Now remind me what the pre tour predictions were.$-0 white wash wasn't it. We came we saw we beat you. please tour us again soon i do so love watching the world class batting line up play.

oneupnowuv
on December 17, 2012, 17:54 GMT

dhoni will not be replaced untill the SA tour coz noone is there ready to take captaincy ,some seniors have been dropped others are lacking form and discipline.but changes are needed we need more correct batsmen at the top order.IMO Pujara shld open,Kohli at 1 down..gambhir or sehwag 1 of them has to bat in middle coz we cannot afford two fishy batsmen opening that too without any confidence and consistency.Rahane will play but i think hes not too suited to open he's suspect to the in coming ball at a good speed.NO6 i wud want to see Rohit Sharma as hes playing as good as anyone in the Ranji.Also too early to mention but ill take Jiwanjyot's name, opener consisitent *fingers crossed.BOWLING ..Zaheer will come back he's not finished,Umesh is good prospect,must build a pool with IshantAwana,Dinda,Varun and 2 more guys Ishwar Pandey and Sandeep Sharma.all rounders no one with high quality but if needed Irfan,Bhuwabeshwar Kumar...all in all we need pace and good openers to get back on trak

JG2704
on December 17, 2012, 17:52 GMT

@marlboro19 - re the "irrational Indian fans" line. I'm not sure where it has come from but unless it intimates that all Indian fans are irrational I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

@ malepas - Obviously time will tell. I certainly won't be getting too carried away although the most pleasing aspect was that we lost the 1st test by 10 wickets and bounced back stronger. What I will say re "The centureis in this test was meaningless" - I'd agree with you on the placid wicket bit but to me if both had fallen cheaply and either Prior or Root did likewise we could have been in big trouble so maybe they were overrated in terms of what the pitch was like but they weren't meaningless

VRRK
on December 17, 2012, 17:50 GMT

Cook saved the ignominy of Indian batsmen, especially of Tendulkar by not giving them a chance to bat again. But the Indian spinners were humiliated.

Rohan-Lalpudha
on December 17, 2012, 17:48 GMT

Currently, South Africa, England, Australia and Pakistan are all better than us. Pakistan is the best and most promising sub continent team and began their rebuilding phase a lot earlier than us. We need to follow their suit.

maddy20
on December 17, 2012, 17:47 GMT

@justshmad
Unlike you Pakistani fans we givethe credit where it is due.Dont worry though. An angry Indian team would love to thrash the Pakistani punching bags to relieve some stress. England played well and won. I would have loved to see an all English tour India though. It is time for us to ponder over the selection that has been made. Pragyan Ojha and Ashwin need to man up. We should have a proper batsman instead of Ravindra Jadeja. Parvinder Awana needs to be in the team in place of one of the spinners. Umesh Yadav needs to learn to manage his fitness. The guy breaks down after the 1st game of a series each time and this is not how it should be. SRT should stop embarassing himself and retire before further damaging whatever reputation he has left. And finally Mr.Fletcher took charge of a world cup winning team and brought them down to this level.BCCI should ponder over a change of coach, someone who actually knows how to bat/bowl without breaking his Arm.

realfan
on December 17, 2012, 17:45 GMT

continued from previous comment
and as for as the fans are concerned, i doubt if england has there fans, i mean look at there comments , they are just smashing indian fans all over as if they are paid for that , instead of realising that they won against a weakest bowling attack ,
and they are thinking as if they won in all parts of the world just because of this series.
get real guys , u were never a potent side against former indian team.
although i appreciate fr their win. well played

and as for as indian fans are concerned . be patient guys. everything happens for good, certainly we will see some changes in the team , and hopefully it will be better team.

NP_NY
on December 17, 2012, 17:41 GMT

Time to give credit where it is due. Well done England. You have comprehensively beaten India in England and in India. Not sure what the official ranking says, but you are truly second best test side in the world today (after SA). As for India, well, it is time for some wholesale changes!

Omarrz
on December 17, 2012, 17:40 GMT

So this proves that England is not bad at all in the sub continent. They were whitewashed 3-0 recently only because they were up against the real Asian Test Champion. This series win and draw against Sri Lanka proves who the real Asian Champ is!

on December 17, 2012, 17:34 GMT

This is not the time to panic!

Famous last words

bumsonseats
on December 17, 2012, 17:34 GMT

Nutcutlet and something for you to remember dont go into a test with only 1 seamer but 5 spinners . with another seamer you may have got more out of the test.mind if finn had played we may have won.

sam911
on December 17, 2012, 17:33 GMT

Indian captain requirement fo winning a match, pitch only favor indian bowlers, reverse swing by any bowler other than indian must consider as a no-ball, no spinner other than indian is allowed to bowl, any umpire who give any indian batsmen out should be remove from the ICC panel immediately, any team who try to beat india, should be banned from playing cricket, otherwise we indian team only play in IPL.

sam911
on December 17, 2012, 17:26 GMT

Indian team now only play IPL, no one can beat them in IPL. BCCI must increase their allowances for useless ICC formats like test matches an one days. BCCi should pressurize ICC to stop wasting time and money on test matches and one dayers, only IPL is allowed as the cricket format, so that indian players show there real talent.

ecricl
on December 17, 2012, 17:10 GMT

i had been fan of england since 1986 when i first watched this great game in TV. for India it is a deluded nation with short memory. success in shorter versions will erase this defeat soon. there is drum already beating "...samne pakistan hain.......asli imtihan hain".............local tv networks has already started showing old india pak ODI mayches where india won. even in past there was show called"winning moments of India". it has started again. loosing to any country is excusable but not to pakistan.........thts the TV channels advertising with the upcoming series. how sidhu shamelessly says when kohli made 100 that forget all failures ....just it matters is this 100!!!!??? dear sir it all matters thats why u were already 2 down in series and the 100 about which sidhu was dancing meant nothing in the long run except saving kohlis skin for another year.
also dhoni is unlucky if he made 100 he could have managed to spent 1/2 more years with this deposit.

phoenixsteve
on December 17, 2012, 17:04 GMT

Nice article George and without really playing up India's crisis. Wholesale changes need to come to India and I'm sure that the talent must be there .... somewhere? Sadly it'll probably take another few drubbings in the T20/ODI games before the revlution will happen. There needs to be a change of attituude with several Indian players and I wonder whether these IPL 'stars' have ther stomach for the grind of Test cricket? England were superb and I'm immensely proud of them and a huge fan of Alastair Cook! This guy has led by example and lets not forget how he calmly insisted that KP be forgiven? The future looks bright for England but there are still a few selection challenges ahead. Hopefully they've learned the folly of players like Bresnan and Patel when real specialists are needed. Onions must consider himself unlucky but his chance will come against the Aussies and the quicks will be the key to the Ashes. WELL DONE ENGLAND!!!

malepas
on December 17, 2012, 17:04 GMT

Well Done to England and for India::It was long coming,,I think England shouldn't get carried away with this though, as they faced one of the weakest bowling attack in the world may be alongside BD and Zambabwe,,and this has been the case for a while,,the only difference this time was that thier "spent" batting line up caught up as well,,so India needs to come out of denial and retire ST asap with changing the MS to limited overs and bringing in some new blood,,for England,,they have this habbit of riding on the waves every time they achieve something against mediocre bowling attacks like against AUS and now against India but then they will come crushing dowin as they did against Pak and SA and now we will wait and see. The centureis in this test was meaningless as you not gonna come across to such placid wickets many times in your life.

JG2704
on December 17, 2012, 16:59 GMT

@kannansachin on (December 17 2012, 13:22 PM GMT) re "The reality is Trott, Bell, Panesar and England are lucky to have toured India and save their career which started showing where their problems lied" re Bell - yes. Re Trott maybe (probably not) re Monty , I'd say the opposite. He bowled well in UAE and had one bad match in SL and was ousted so I'd say he was undeservedly ousted more than luckily to be recalled.

JG2704
on December 17, 2012, 16:59 GMT

Well played Trott and Bell. Must admit I wouldn't have had Bell in the side but decent innings and it will no doubt keep him in the side for the next few years. The one thing I'm most positive about is not so much the fact that we've won in India (as we all know this side is in transition) but the fact that we've come from behind to win the series. I still feel there are things to work on and I also wonder how our batsmen deal with DRS when in SC again against better quality bowling. The other thing I'm pleased about is that all seems good in the dressing room at the moment. PS have to say 50+ comms so far and not one full on troll. How refreshing

marlboro19
on December 17, 2012, 16:53 GMT

one request- please stop making broad statements, e.g. "irrational Indian fans" .It's just wrong to bracket more than a billion people in the same sentence. Statistically , even if you take all the people on the forums here into consideration (Indians), it will fall very inadequately short of being statistically representative , not to mention there are still many balanced Ind fans here.
We are the most diverse country with more than two thousand ethnic groups.We have as many chrisitans as canada, as many muslims as pakistan and almost all the religions are represented .We have all the four major laguage families in world( indo-european(Aryan),dravidian,etc) That also reflects in our cricket team . While it took australia more than hundred years to even get a muslim player , we have had literally hundreds. Not to mention indian origion players in WI, ENg, NZ ,SA, etc.
So the point of this prolix diatribe is- We are a very diverse people , you can't , with a sane mind, generalize us.

likeintcricket
on December 17, 2012, 16:53 GMT

Now I wonder why they put a sandwitch series against Pakistan. Surely India will win this series and every one will be happy again.

on December 17, 2012, 16:42 GMT

England have finally outplayed India in all depts is not a surprise. Indians need to learn a lesson out of this. The selection has been poor with a fragile middle order and a collective failure altogether. BCCi is the richest body but still struggling to give good test match wicket. Look at the series played in Australia against SA and now SL, the wickets are hard, bouncy and is pleasing to watch cricket as it has something for the batsmen and bowlers. In India BCCI spoil the wickets by preparing unsportive wickets and altogether kill the game. This has been discussed for the last 35 years and still the same old story. Nagpur Mohali Chennai, Dharmasala are suppose to be some of the best wickets in the country and it has been spoiled due to crude thinking and not in the best interest of the game and country. The wickets need to be similarly good for the ranji as well. What ever is said it will fall on deaf ears.

thespire
on December 17, 2012, 16:41 GMT

India are just going through a bad patch much like England did and their fans was behind then and they believed not like us... So just give the team some time everyone has bad patched and also people stop picking on individuals ...

Leggie
on December 17, 2012, 16:41 GMT

Certainly a good comeback by England, and they fully deserve the 2-1 success. Indian fans should not lose hope that English spinners bowled better than them in their own conditions. When India won the series 2-0 in England in 1986, and 1-0 in 2006, it was the Indian pacers (or the medium pacers) who out-bowled their English counterparts in their own backyard to win the series for India. Same with India's drawn series in SA - not so long ago in 2010-2011 when India drew 1-1. Sometimes fan's memory can be short & its important that journalists & media who really care about Indian cricket make fans understand that this is one of biggest transition phases of Indian cricket and it can only get better from this point onwards Let's not bash India too much. YES, they could have done better, but not all is lost.India's heros of 2000- Dravid, Laxman, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Kumble, Zaheer, Sehwag and Harbhajan have retired or have an inexplicable slump.The new India will have to arise from the ashes

justshmad
on December 17, 2012, 16:38 GMT

wah wah wah,,,,,No proper excuse this time?????So say that England was a better team thats why we lost...LoLzzzz...

marlboro19
on December 17, 2012, 16:35 GMT

Eng thoroughly deserve this win. It would perhaps be ranked as one of the the top achievements in the history of test cricket.Let me clarify that, NO other could have done it at the moment. Aus and SA lack the spinners , Pak lacks the quality batsmen. It's not to suggest Eng are on the top, but if you take the weighted average of all the surfaces in world, Eng are definitely in a unique position.
About Cook - I can only see him with admiration mixed with jealousy .If you compare him with dhoni, there isn't much of a gap in technique or ability , it's something innate - If i venture to compare two historical figures of respective countries - buddha and churchil - with dhoni's calm and detachedness verging on nihilism and cook's tenacity , it becomes somewhat clear.
However that's how history works- empires fall, bravery is rewarded , and the new era begin . Rise like a phoenix India.
PS: is it only me or someone else has also recognized clint estwood in this article?

guitarboy
on December 17, 2012, 16:31 GMT

Cheer up indian supporters IPL is around the corner.

nymphsatyr
on December 17, 2012, 16:20 GMT

The promos of Star Cricket/Star Sports "Indians have mastered the English musical drum etc.." has backfired in quite a proportion. Though they are still showing some kids as grown up to be whose and who (Ashwin, Kohli) . God save those kids!

on December 17, 2012, 16:16 GMT

Please India stop wasting the bigger teams precious time and play with teams around your calibre like New Zealand, Ireland, Bangladesh, West Indies etc until you get the basics right.

on December 17, 2012, 16:14 GMT

When Do(or)bell rings so well, it is easy to forget the Gardner's work in Winter and Gnashing teeth all around. Thank you Dobell, for a balanced piece of journalism. Guys, who can't hide their bias like Sunny & Shastry n the TV (in one direction) and some of your own colleagues (in the opposite direction)can learn a bit about unbiased journalism. Keep it up.

on December 17, 2012, 16:13 GMT

Well Done England..Many congratulations to Cook and his team. Now India must think of some thing new, probably a revised strategy for test cricket. Can some one ask Sachin to retire from cricket. Non performing since WC2011.

on December 17, 2012, 16:08 GMT

This is not the end of the world for India. All big teams go through such phases. Even the mighty Australia is not in a good shape now. Dhoni still has long way to go in test cricket. He no longer has that world class test batting lineup of Dravid, Laxman, Saurav and Sachin (young and in form). He longer has Kumble and Harbajan (in form) dou to take 10/12 wickets in a match. What the hell he will do? Look how good the team was under his captaincy from 2008 to 2011. Who will take over now? Have patience - my friends from India.

SDHM
on December 17, 2012, 16:07 GMT

@Pradip Dhole - the term 'clutching at straws' comes to mind.

Dirk_L
on December 17, 2012, 16:06 GMT

Wow, England managed to beat a team that contains not just one but two of the all-time best test cricketers, according to the ICC's website. Don't feel upset if your favourite cricketer is not in that team: as Jacques Kallis did not say, it is an honour not to be included in a team that also does not include Garry Sobers. You get three guesses, no, I'll be generous, ten guesses who got the all-rounder spot in the ICC's all-time best test XI. No, it's not Samit Patel, good try though.

late--cut
on December 17, 2012, 16:05 GMT

@ chrisriemers ; SPOT ONNNNN....BRO....SPOT ONNNN... Especially I love the last part "now stop acting like you run the world of cricket and go and practice hard!! real hard!!" BULL'S EYE !!! you nailed it. I hope now they've realized how pathetic they are. Its about time LESS TALK..MORE CRICKET...

BustIPL
on December 17, 2012, 15:41 GMT

Hats off the to Indian cricket management for avoiding another drubbing similar to the whitewash by managing to keep it 2-1 somehow. In the first test england took time to settle down while in the final test the type of wicket saved many faces. This time flat track worked against India as England cold manage 300+ in the first and then India could not get advantage of a deteriorating pitch on day 4 & 5. Also by taking an hour off the 4th day they managed to contain England's lead as then england took another hour to settle down. Anyway, England have to prove against tougher oppositions and I am sure they will.

GlobalCricketLover
on December 17, 2012, 15:37 GMT

Just can't wait for this BCCI team to visit SA... !! I guess sachin's stiff neck wont get alright until that SA tour is over :) When teams could fold him on Indian dull pitches, imagine the scene on bouncy SA pitches! I am an Indian but a huge SA fan... I hope Jadeja, Ashwin, Dhoni all make that trip.. it will be fun to watch..

VishalPathak
on December 17, 2012, 15:35 GMT

India needs to relook at their strategy and gameplan. Need to groom younger players like Rahane, Pujara, Kohli, Awana, (Where is Kamran Khan and Rahul sharma these days?) Nothing to worry; every rising entity has a fall, this was a phase and we all hope it ends very soon. Coming to England, they have played well and deserved to win. Three cheers to English win let this be a consolation as they have never won a world cup.

Maq003
on December 17, 2012, 15:25 GMT

Dont worry now our team is going to play T20 , T50 against england and pakistan any how they will win some then................... we will forgot all these thing what we are talking today. Again we start to praise dhoni srt and so on, we are short memory people . This will carry till the next test defeat.LoL

inswing
on December 17, 2012, 15:23 GMT

The central reason for India's defeat is that they have no bowling. People obsess about batting, but in reality India's weak bowlers allowed mediocre English batsmen to make runs on turning wickets. After Kumble, Harbhajan, and Zaheer, no strike bowler left. Ashwin is completely worthless. The worst of all, he will keep his place in the team by occasionaly contributing with the bat. Never mind that he averages something like 50 as a bower. Ojha is better than Ashwin, but still very mediocre. Ishanth is another bowler averaging 40+ who is somehow considered good enough to represent India. Pathetic.

on December 17, 2012, 15:22 GMT

Evry team will have some players with "attiude" like Kevin Peterson, Chris Gayle and now Ross Taylor. Unfortunately India has 11 players with the same attitude. Difference is that all other cricket board delt with these players effectively but BCCI hasnt done anything to bring these players to the ground

It is not surprising that IPL killed off Indian cricket

KarachiKid
on December 17, 2012, 15:11 GMT

Beautiful piece by cricinfo's one of the best (George Dobell)!!!

sachin_vvsfan
on December 17, 2012, 15:08 GMT

@Silverbails We won in 2007 too but not sure how many we have won . there is no disgrace in losing to a better team.England have been a better team (2nd and 3rd test) and the last test is a discgrace to the game.

chrisriemers
on December 17, 2012, 15:07 GMT

Well Indian Cricket, the IPL finally caught up with you in home conditions too. batsmen playing wild shots, bowlers impatient in long spells, fielding ragged after a hard day. really wish it was twenty overs, don't cha??? now stop acting like you run the world of cricket and go and practice hard!! real hard!!

Arijit_in_TO
on December 17, 2012, 15:03 GMT

England were the superior team in all facets and deservedly won the series.
Well done England.

While succession planning has not been a stong suit of the Indian selectors, it is a sad indictment of the BCCI that the team appeared exceedingly mediocre at home when everything was tilted in their favour.

bumsonseats
on December 17, 2012, 14:53 GMT

poor game for decisions on both sides but the 2 on cook were bad. it can make who we think a good umpire if fact the icc top umpire look very silly. but the culprits that have brought that to this series the BCCI should be ashamed of themselves. the DRS was to be used to get rid of howlers and its use would have done just that.that said the old adage if in doubt its not out, when i look at them im afraid i cannot understand why the we given.perhaps a drink at the bar he may be able to tell cook why he gave them.because i cannot.

on December 17, 2012, 14:47 GMT

Congrats England. . . I am from India. . . But you played superbly especially cook, anderson & panesar. . . I never seen any English team capable of beating India except this one. . . I am very happy for Ian Bell scoring century. . . His new born baby will be happy isn't it ?. . .

shillingsworth
on December 17, 2012, 14:44 GMT

@Aneek Saleh Mohammad - England's next away series against Pakistan is scheduled for October 2015 at a location yet to be determined. By this time, Ajmal will be 38. I'd say that it's impossible to predict the result of a series when neither the personnel or venue are known. @Paul Rone-Clarke - as usual, an excellent comment.

on December 17, 2012, 14:41 GMT

@ Lewanay: I saw one of the Indian TV shows on Mushtaq's role. Far as I recall he was there at the UAE in January training England on how to beat his OWN PAKISTAN!!! Here's your proof: http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan-v-england-2012/content/story/545606.html
It didn't work then, despite him knowing far more about team Pakistan then he can ever hope to know about team India. Maybe because he decided to do the opposite of what he ought, out of patriotism, and ECB, chumps that they are, kept him on for good money!

on December 17, 2012, 14:39 GMT

IPL has done wonders to Indian cricket! See how Indians are going downwards in test arena. They should promote more players like Pujara to keep Indian test hopes! Dhoni, Sehwag & Gambhir are not playing for the Country, they are playing for the captaincy, what a shame!

on December 17, 2012, 14:36 GMT

Brilliant stuff England.
Clearly my name suggests that I was not rooting for an English victory.
However - the ability to adapt to foreign surfaces and styles of cricket is a feature of any balanced world class test side and England is right up there with South Africa and Australia.
I may add that India's number one ranking - was primarily due to Cricket played on flat dusty boring tracks in the subcontinent.

jimbond
on December 17, 2012, 14:32 GMT

India definitely have come off their wheels, but if England think that they are "renewed' they are deceiving themselves. It was India's incapability to play spin (only in the last match were they troubled by reverse swing) which led to this outcome. If India are to move forward they need to scrap half the team and test out new blood. England too possibly need to do the same;else they would be found wanting against better teams.

on December 17, 2012, 14:31 GMT

The pundits of the game always maintain that good form is a rather ethereal quantity and are adamant that if one is in good nick, it is always a good idea to make the most of it. Alistair Cook chose a different path in the second innings of the Kolkata Test with his completely unnecessary (some would even term the effort "stupid") charge down the track, missing the ball completely and being stumped in the very first over of the innings. Lady Luck is hard to please and Cook broke his dominating spell over the Indian bowlers with his rather uncharacteristic rush of blood. With twin Ashes series coming up, Cook, not to mention the entire England team management, may very well rue his transgression.

PrasPunter
on December 17, 2012, 14:30 GMT

from here-on, i reckon eng wouldnt be bothered much about the t20s and
ODIs against india - who cares about these !! the real test is done and
Eng has emerged as clear winners. Won't be surprised to see another
0-5 in odis, which anyway is quite irrevelant. Test-cricket matters , THE MOST !!
Well done Eng !! Congratulations !!

StatisticsRocks
on December 17, 2012, 14:26 GMT

CONGRATULATIONS ENG from an Indian fan. You totally deserved to win this series and I am surprised you lost the first match. There is absolutely no shame in losing to a much much better team in all aspects of the game right from fitness, commitment, talent and more importantly attitude. As an Indian, I must admit I am embarassed by the behaviour of some of the Indian players including MSD, Kohli the way they behaved on day 4 with respect to Trott's non-dismissal. As an Indian fan I appologize to the ENG fans who show nothing but respect for our cricketers when we tour them. We r the ones who say no to DRS then shut up and accept umpires decision. Cook was not out in both the innnings of this test match and did not show any contempt. Who r v kidding that was the only way we could have gotten Cook anyways. BCCI needs to take a hard look at the facts and reality or else test cricket is history in India. I hope ICC bans India from playing test cricket if we don't imptove our attitudes.

Pilko_Pump_Pants
on December 17, 2012, 14:24 GMT

in reply to i_am , did you not see the performances in England and Australia . That was the hard slap . You seem to be of the same opinion of the likes of the BCCI and other Indians that overseas tests don't matter as long as you win at home .The BCCI are totally to blame , all they are interested in is money . It wasn't long ago Tendulkar played a full IPL season and then wanted to be rested for the West Indies tour. That tells you all you need to know about what's more important . Too much one day and T20's . Until the BCCI is run by people who wanted to improve the test team Indian cricket is just going to get worse. There is no hunger to play for the national team as average players earn fortunes playing IPL

on December 17, 2012, 14:18 GMT

Wining and losing are all the part of game untill we are learning from our mistakes.But I was surprised that legend like gavaskar are praising kohli on his shmeful act .India need to change there mind set if they realy want to improve.

zaragon
on December 17, 2012, 14:11 GMT

This was a really encouraging series for England, after having been completely outplayed by South Africa in the summer. In my view, Cook has completed his transition from being a very good player to being a great player with these performances. England's best asset is that the core of the side is stable. If they can nail down the no.2 and no.6 positions (Compton and Root made promising debuts in this series) then there is more to come from this team, because they have a strong squad of bowlers to choose from, led by Anderson and Swann.

As for India, they have so much cricket talent that they will soon be on the up again. Like Australia, too many great players have reached the end of their careers at roughly the same time, and their longevity has deprived the next generation of test experience. However, it is time for India fans to stop arguing that overseas defeats were the result of pitches doctored to suit the home attack! I look forward to seeing the next India side emerge.

wnwn
on December 17, 2012, 14:10 GMT

The Indian test team needs a major overhaul. The only players i would keep are Kohli, Pujara. Umesh Yadav and Ojha. The others are either not good enough, too old or incredibly poor fielders.

henchart
on December 17, 2012, 14:06 GMT

Just because Eng were drubbed in UAE it was assumed by Indian fans and their players that all Eng needs to do for losing is to land in India.Complacency and under estimation of opponents and ending up digging their own grave is Indian cricket team's old habit which is going to die hard.Cook,Strauss and Bell scored 195,144 and 107 in the entire series ,that too at home ,against Proteas .Cook cooked Indian bowling .This itself shows how superior Proteas are.Can anybody match Kallis,deVilliers Amla and Smith? What to say about Steyn,Philander and Morkel?Ask the Aussies who are yet to get over du Plessis nightmare.Poor Ponting couldnt get to double figure in any of the innings in his last test series and he whipped toothless Indian attack last summer and extended his
career .Point is ,when will India and their irrational fans learn to cease over estimating their team ?Probably after SRT retires which means ,never LOL.Meanwhile, Clarke plans to add to his 300 tally in India .

on December 17, 2012, 13:58 GMT

The turning point in England's fortunes in sub continent was definitely whitewash in UAE by pak.even though there wasn't Amal to negotiate with in India, the better preparations in Dubai prior to India tour led by flower and co.'s coaching prepared them much better mentally and technically.India, overconfident having beaten weak w.indies (against which victory wasnt assured) and n.zealand, we're more concerned about public rhetoric following England and Australian drubbing at away tours. Had they concentrated on addressing their weaknesses leading to those defeats, the result could have been the other way, in their favour.

Schaali
on December 17, 2012, 13:56 GMT

"Tendulkar should finish the series on the treatment bench", rightly said George. An old man reflecting old India. He is not hungry for runs, he is under an illusion that majority of Indian cricket followers still support him. Einstein once said "with more and more fame I became foolish which is not unusual". For Sachin it would be like "With less and less fame, he became more and more insult proof which is time they require a kick by selectors". A free advice for Sachin, save some embarrassment and use a lighter bat and you shall not be out "bold". However, with your aching legs and cluttered mind you would not be able to make runs anyway.

dustmizer
on December 17, 2012, 13:53 GMT

I think India needs to rethink their batting strategy and bring in some fresh faces. Great Tendulkar needs to make way for his successors!! Well done to England - they have been very proffessional.

frazenator01
on December 17, 2012, 13:52 GMT

Congrtas ENG...Now if India lose to Aus as well next year we should expect ZIM or BD travelling to Ind for a test series..

Long-Leg
on December 17, 2012, 13:40 GMT

I just wanted to say a big thank you to the genuine Indian fans who have commented on these boards over the past few weeks and given me an insight into the state of the game in India. I am English and, while delighted at this series win, am also a little sad to see the agonies at the heart of Indian Cricket. We England fans have been there and know what it feels like. However, it is good to know there are many people in India still passionate about test cricket. Keep the faith friends and all the best for the future.

landl47
on December 17, 2012, 13:39 GMT

Great job by Alastair Cook. Good to see Trott and Bell (finally!) batting the way they can and ensuring the draw and the series win. Wonderful debut for Root, who showed he has the technique and temperament for test cricket. Anderson, Swann and Panesar had series to be proud of. The same can't be said of Bresnan and Broad, who were basically passengers the whole tour, and Finn, who played well in his one match but was disturbingly injury-prone. Pietersen had periods of brilliance, Compton hung in gamely and Prior batted well, though he found keeping a challenge in these conditions.

India is in disarray. Their great batsmen have gone or are at the end of their careers, the bowling doesn't look test standard and Dhoni made some very odd captaincy decisions. India needs to regroup, the BCCI needs to pull its head out of the sand and accept the DRS and they have to realize that the IPL is not the future of cricket. The fans deserve and must demand better.

Nutcutlet
on December 17, 2012, 13:35 GMT

Brilliant, England! Winning a 4 Test series coming from one down is an exceptional achievement (esp. in India) & there are several plusses along the way. And also there are a couple of lessons to be learned, even in the moment of triumph. Never, never go into a Test in India, (or SL or the UAE) with only one spinner! Be sceptical if a bowler declares he's 100%! If he hasn't proved it, he's not fit. No one should self-select. England is not India. Then there are more subtle areas. If Bell succeeded here on a mortuary slab of a pitch, does that mean that he's cured his sub-continental malaise. IMO, this inns doesn't close the case. Root's temperament for the big stage is, however, conclusive: he's at home in TC. Should he open in NZ? In my team I'd groom him for #3 where he can fulfil a dual role: back-up opener after an early wkt or stroke-maker, capitalising on a substantial opening stand. KP @4; JB/IB @5. #6 is now open.Trott could well drop in here. Ballast after the stroke-makers.

doubtingthomas
on December 17, 2012, 13:32 GMT

Not much should be read into Trott's and Bell's centuries, for they scored against a very ordinary bowling attack. Even a lesser accomplished batsman than themselves almost managed to score a 100 just a day before, that too against England's bowling attack. However, this victory is a triumph of spirits, good sportsmanship and exemplary leadership by Alastair Cook. I so very much hope that he has barely begun. We deserve a better class of cricketers, and Alastair Cook is exactly that.

Silverbails
on December 17, 2012, 13:29 GMT

Well done, England. As predicted 2 -1 to them. Well, when the media comments on winning in INDIA, ONE MUST REMEMBER how many times India have EVER WON in England - just TWICE in their WHOLE history - 1970/ 71 and 1986/ 87, I believe, whereas England have won on quite a number of times IN INDIA. So, please let's NOT BLEAT about that particular record. India have also NEVER won a series IN Australia and South Africa. So, they've got one hellofa loing way to go in winning series, particularly abrupt. Saddest Indian Test team that I can EVER remember!!

indianpunter
on December 17, 2012, 13:27 GMT

The time to press the panic button was when 4-0 happened in England last year. Nothing happened then, or subsequently after another 4-0 thrashing down under. Any suggestion of a review was shot down with impunity stating that everything was fine. This is the lowest of the low , but i am not holding my breath here, thinking that some good might come out of this abyss. I cannot see how tendulkar can be picked for another test. Sehwag could be moved down the order to accommodate his departure with Rahane opening. If tendulkar wont retire now, i am stopping watching test cricket.

kannansachin
on December 17, 2012, 13:22 GMT

I am searching for months for a real "analysis". Experts started writing about how england turned up as a team after ahmedabad, hard work by panesar, andersons hard toil pays-off etc etc... The reality is Trott, Bell, Panesar and England are lucky to have toured India and save their career which started showing where their problems lied. The fact is that team INDIA is in very bad condition with the worst ever bowling attack. Before the beginning of the series there were articles about "the mystery spin" of Ashwin, lol, The real mystery for me was, whether there will be any spin from ashwin's delivery and i am sure there are many indians who agree with me. Zaheer's walk in the ground was like a man at a wedding. ishant as usual bowls all day long to the 11th stump on the off side. Ojha, lucky to be born in a period where there are no "spinners" available in India. Dhoni, talks about unavailable of part-timers, and the reason to bring his mate in Jadeja. "Analysis" To be continued...

sarowar86
on December 17, 2012, 13:18 GMT

well its now official... its time to gayle dance for barmy army and all England fans.And for India pls get some mental refreshment...you really need that.

amilag
on December 17, 2012, 13:18 GMT

The minnows are defeated again in a Test series. ICC should scrap the Test status from India very soon. The IPL has done miracles to Indian Cricket...LOL

JustOUT
on December 17, 2012, 13:15 GMT

This is the realty of the Team India... After Dravid & Laxman's retirement, middle order has become a waste. Soon after sehwag's retirement opening also will become a waste. There are no major bench strength for test cricket in India. All are IPL heroes and wants to be IPL kings.

i_am
on December 17, 2012, 13:13 GMT

congrats england n as an indian i have no shame in saying that u outplayed us in all departments after first test hope to see old indian team back(which was no.1) still its good that we got hard slap on our face but u deserve the win :)

challagalla
on December 17, 2012, 13:07 GMT

Problems plenty for Indian cricket but where are the bold men who can solve them. Every one knows what needs to be done and yet nothing is done. Changes are needed in BCCI constitution and set up to begin with. Is anybody there to bell the cat?

DIFLEY
on December 17, 2012, 13:07 GMT

BCCI should use IPL money to improve Test cricket . This is how we can do it. IPL payment to the test player should be related to his performance in test cricket like , if a batsman avergares more than 50 in tests he shopuld get full payment subject to mconditions. If bowler gets 5 wickets etc. If team wins a test then it should be linked. Team + individual performances should be linked to IPL payments. Ultimately, it is because of fame in test cricket that they are rated higher in IPL. Rest of players and foreigners can be paid normally.

on December 17, 2012, 13:02 GMT

England shouldnt be too happy that they have sorted out their spin problems. India doesnt have the quality bowling attack that Pakistan or Srilanka has. They will lose again if they play in UAE against the likes of Saeed Ajmal and team.
India needs to find and groom the next Kumble and Kapil Dev. Thats the only way India will be competitive in Tests otherwise their success will be limited to T20s and One dayers.

2.14istherunrate
on December 17, 2012, 13:01 GMT

It was great to see Trott back to his norm-glorious certainty and unflappability, and Bell made last chance saloon his own for the afternoon. It is just as wll really because both have been an integral part of the scene in the last few years. The lion has recaptured its roar at least.

on December 17, 2012, 13:00 GMT

Up until the 3rd test it was a great series. Pithches like we saw in the 4th test will kill test cricket and whoever is responsible for it should be severely censured. A pitch where it was easy for even number 10 batsmen to stay in, but hard for even the most flambouyant strokemaker to make runs. Pretty much the EXACT OPPOSITE of what a good pitch should be. Defending = ridiculously easy - Scoring fluently = ridiculously hard. India needed a result. Better to gamble and go for a result pitch than this pitch which would have seen the game stretch for at least 7 days. England leading by 350 with 6 2nd innings wickets left - how many would India have been chasing? 500? 600? How long would that have taken? Another day of England batting and at least 2 days of India batting. We don't play 8 days tests - and this wicket is a nail in the coffin of test cricket. Awful. When test cricket goes - so will my interest in the game. Baseball cricket (t20) holds no interest for me.

thalalara
on December 17, 2012, 13:00 GMT

Excellent writeup Mr.Dobell, without criticising any individual.

pratit
on December 17, 2012, 12:57 GMT

Yeah, this is indeed a performance to cherish as it does not happen very often. But one should not make assumptions about the goodness of this England side based just on the result. Even in the last England tour, the English comms thought they were on their way to "greatness" by beating India 4-0, before they were brought down by Pakistan. In reality, England had to overcome themselves and their lack of belief in this series. They made a blunder by not including Panesar in Ahmedabad and then panicked while batting. Much of the credit should go to Prior and Cook for showing the way in the 2nd innings of that match.
What England can really take home from this series is that they have probably the best combo of spinners in world cricket at their disposal at the moment. This they can easily leverage against Australia in the Ashes next year and most other teams because except Pakistan, few other teams have got decent spinners.

Farce-Follower
on December 17, 2012, 12:46 GMT

The Indian media and fans for long got away with the biggest hype of them all - Tendulkar carried the hopes of the nation. It was Dravid and Laxman who slogged and saved the nation. Dhoni worked hard to oust the latter. And the team is a shambles now.

nyc_missile
on December 17, 2012, 12:36 GMT

Congrats England for not just winning the series but winning it against heavy odds and losing 1st match..only shows you need strong will-power,character & passion to win NOT depend on pitches & all sort of excuses like Mr Dhoni..problems of India well yes here are the ones IMO and also possible solutions- DROP - Dhoni,Sachin & Sehwag - Bring in Rahane,Rohit & Saha. Gambhir as test captain for a couple years might push him for better batting performances too..Fresh faces and energy will only help even if we lose a match or two in between!

on December 17, 2012, 12:28 GMT

Throughout the series England have been excellent and deserve the series victory. And 10 of their eleven players have performed at some stage in this series to bail out the team from difficulty. That's why cricket is a team game.
Sadly, this is not the case with India. Hope they do what is right for the future!

on December 17, 2012, 12:24 GMT

It is time for India to look for NEW sun. Brush a side the long dream you saw in the night.

Lewanay
on December 17, 2012, 12:20 GMT

It would be interesting to read about the role of Mushtaq Ahmad in preparing both bowlers and batsmen in spin department.

on December 17, 2012, 12:14 GMT

Dear Mr. Dobell, problems, OH PROBLEMS ! and you are spot on. India have major issues. Our system is dysfunctional and delusional at the same time. The sport of TEST cricket is taking a hammering at the hands of the BCCI who have now decided to purely treat the game's prime format as a 'side show'. On the flip side, they feel IPL and CLT20 are the bone and sinew of cricket. Shame on them for such an attitude. The entire domestic structure needs a shake up. Team India's stature as a test nation does not only hinge on the dropping of a few old players. The problem is much more sinister. Obviously, something is horribly wrong with the way we run our cricket in India. Two consecutive overseas whitewashes, now a HOME defeat in more than 28 years. Come on, WAKE UP India !! There is still time IF you intend to be honest with your fans, the country and all well wishers of Indian cricket. Please wake up from your world of gibberish dreams and lousy stardom. Please come back to reality !

No featured comments at the moment.

on December 17, 2012, 12:14 GMT

Dear Mr. Dobell, problems, OH PROBLEMS ! and you are spot on. India have major issues. Our system is dysfunctional and delusional at the same time. The sport of TEST cricket is taking a hammering at the hands of the BCCI who have now decided to purely treat the game's prime format as a 'side show'. On the flip side, they feel IPL and CLT20 are the bone and sinew of cricket. Shame on them for such an attitude. The entire domestic structure needs a shake up. Team India's stature as a test nation does not only hinge on the dropping of a few old players. The problem is much more sinister. Obviously, something is horribly wrong with the way we run our cricket in India. Two consecutive overseas whitewashes, now a HOME defeat in more than 28 years. Come on, WAKE UP India !! There is still time IF you intend to be honest with your fans, the country and all well wishers of Indian cricket. Please wake up from your world of gibberish dreams and lousy stardom. Please come back to reality !

Lewanay
on December 17, 2012, 12:20 GMT

It would be interesting to read about the role of Mushtaq Ahmad in preparing both bowlers and batsmen in spin department.

on December 17, 2012, 12:24 GMT

It is time for India to look for NEW sun. Brush a side the long dream you saw in the night.

on December 17, 2012, 12:28 GMT

Throughout the series England have been excellent and deserve the series victory. And 10 of their eleven players have performed at some stage in this series to bail out the team from difficulty. That's why cricket is a team game.
Sadly, this is not the case with India. Hope they do what is right for the future!

nyc_missile
on December 17, 2012, 12:36 GMT

Congrats England for not just winning the series but winning it against heavy odds and losing 1st match..only shows you need strong will-power,character & passion to win NOT depend on pitches & all sort of excuses like Mr Dhoni..problems of India well yes here are the ones IMO and also possible solutions- DROP - Dhoni,Sachin & Sehwag - Bring in Rahane,Rohit & Saha. Gambhir as test captain for a couple years might push him for better batting performances too..Fresh faces and energy will only help even if we lose a match or two in between!

Farce-Follower
on December 17, 2012, 12:46 GMT

The Indian media and fans for long got away with the biggest hype of them all - Tendulkar carried the hopes of the nation. It was Dravid and Laxman who slogged and saved the nation. Dhoni worked hard to oust the latter. And the team is a shambles now.

pratit
on December 17, 2012, 12:57 GMT

Yeah, this is indeed a performance to cherish as it does not happen very often. But one should not make assumptions about the goodness of this England side based just on the result. Even in the last England tour, the English comms thought they were on their way to "greatness" by beating India 4-0, before they were brought down by Pakistan. In reality, England had to overcome themselves and their lack of belief in this series. They made a blunder by not including Panesar in Ahmedabad and then panicked while batting. Much of the credit should go to Prior and Cook for showing the way in the 2nd innings of that match.
What England can really take home from this series is that they have probably the best combo of spinners in world cricket at their disposal at the moment. This they can easily leverage against Australia in the Ashes next year and most other teams because except Pakistan, few other teams have got decent spinners.

thalalara
on December 17, 2012, 13:00 GMT

Excellent writeup Mr.Dobell, without criticising any individual.

on December 17, 2012, 13:00 GMT

Up until the 3rd test it was a great series. Pithches like we saw in the 4th test will kill test cricket and whoever is responsible for it should be severely censured. A pitch where it was easy for even number 10 batsmen to stay in, but hard for even the most flambouyant strokemaker to make runs. Pretty much the EXACT OPPOSITE of what a good pitch should be. Defending = ridiculously easy - Scoring fluently = ridiculously hard. India needed a result. Better to gamble and go for a result pitch than this pitch which would have seen the game stretch for at least 7 days. England leading by 350 with 6 2nd innings wickets left - how many would India have been chasing? 500? 600? How long would that have taken? Another day of England batting and at least 2 days of India batting. We don't play 8 days tests - and this wicket is a nail in the coffin of test cricket. Awful. When test cricket goes - so will my interest in the game. Baseball cricket (t20) holds no interest for me.

2.14istherunrate
on December 17, 2012, 13:01 GMT

It was great to see Trott back to his norm-glorious certainty and unflappability, and Bell made last chance saloon his own for the afternoon. It is just as wll really because both have been an integral part of the scene in the last few years. The lion has recaptured its roar at least.